Scobleism

People I Have Asked

2007-07-12T22:06:00.001Z

Originally uploaded by edscoble

After getting the 28mm wide angle lens, I now feel more influenced to do what Eamon ( 'stpiduko' in Flickr) usually do, going around town smelling of last night's lagers asking people if it okay for him to take a portrait of them.

Naturally I gave it a try, despite the lack of interesting fashion on Tuesday and using the wrong film (Fujifilm 1600), I managed to get some interesting shot and especially when I finally use the correct film (Kodak Portra 160VC) it came out even nicer with a smaller dept of field to add sharpness.

I'll keep on trying this week around London for more portrait shot.

28mm

2007-07-07T14:58:00.001Z

Originally uploaded by edscoble

I hasn't use my Canon EOS-1n in age, mostly because at the moment it got a 50mm lens, nice but not my choice, and also it's quite big and heavy for everyday usage (this is also why I value my film compact) so I finally found a good 28mm lens for only £140, quite a good value considered it used to cost about £220.

I love it now, the wide angle is always nice to use and on a high end SLR, the bright viewfinder made it a lots easier, especially at low lighting when it can be hard to see the subject through the viewfinder.

I'll end up using it a lots more this week, I love doing portrait with it, like the shot I took of my girlfriend and her ever-screaming Toki Doki bag.

Oh, and Kodak Portra 160VC is the sex.

Success Of The Medium Format

2007-05-27T16:53:00.001Z

Sister
Originally uploaded by edscoble

After using the Lubitel for a while, I started to like the affordability of the TLR, so I decided that it's worth upgrading the Lubitel to something a bit better, well a lots better, by getting the Yashica Mat 124.

The Yashica is basically a clone of the well known Rolleiflex TLR, it's much more solidity made, conventional, easy to handle and despite being heavier and bigger, a crisper viewfinder that make focusing easier.
I should be able to use it a lots more now, I love the medium format photography more than the 35mm counterpart, I'd rather have a medium format SLR, but for now, I'll stick with the TLR for a while, take advantage of what I have.

Thou shalt not read NME

2007-04-09T16:00:00.001Z

Thou shalt not read NME
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

The title is obviously taken from the ever-fantastic Thou Shalt Always Kill song, However as much as I like to this is not what I'm gonna talk about.

I've just recently aquired a medium format TLR called a Lubitel, it's basically those cheap basic one that's nowhere as good as those Rollei or Yashica one, but it's a start, as my belief in photography is that you don't need an excellent camera to take a great shot, a better camera just make it easier, not better. I was rather taken aback by the sheer amount of detail a single medium format negatives held, it also worth noting that many professional photographer still use medium format because they can easily scan the negative to 220 megapixels easily while a digital back can only get about 30 megapixels, despite the benefit of having instantaneous preview of the shot you've just took (and let not forget the sheer cost of getting a digital back, easily 10 grand for a good one).

I'd use the Lubitel more but because it's not as conventional as the Contax T3 or the excellent LOMO LC-A, I fear that it might be gathering dusts.

Rarity

2007-04-03T01:29:00.001Z

07776004963
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

As I fell in love with the expired Kodak Portra film, I rushed back to West End Camera to try and get some more before it ran out, sadly it has ran out so instead I brought two Kodak Ektachrome 160T films to see how an expired slide film when cross process (and one to process normally) appear, perhaps an interesting mix, it might look like it's cross processed but can you tell? hopefully I'll find out soon enough before West End Camera end up running out of expired Ektachrome films.

Expired

2007-03-26T17:08:00.001Z

Expired
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

expired films goodness, I aquired some old Kodak Portra 100T at my local camera shop in the 'bargain' bin, mostly to see how it would turn out and i'm pleasantly surprised by how wonderfully muted the colour is, definitely going back to get the whole expired Portra soon.

Retro? What Is Retro?

2007-03-23T02:56:00.001Z

Untitled #20
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I rather like the graffiti (or stencil? it look like it's painted really), some would says it's a retro 60's style, but sod that, enough of this retro rubbish, this one is purely a modernised 60's style, retro would implied that it's an imitation of a style/fashion or design from the recent past, so this is not a retro design, it's purely a modernisation of a 60's design.

Cycle Ambulance

2007-03-14T15:36:00.001Z

Cycle Ambulance - Birmingham
Originally uploaded by troutmask.

I just saw this in Flickr, and apparently it was a trial period to see if the cycle ambulance is idea or not, it has been very successful, and I do hope they start to introduced it to every city in the UK, also quicker than a traditional ambulance, just click the picture to read more information about it.

District Man

2007-03-14T01:18:00.001Z

District Man
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I waited 20 minutes just to wait for the sun to shine properly.

My pet peeve is how some people buy a Nikon D80/Canon 400D and instantly think they'll be a great photographer, just click and shoot, without realising their photos are just rubbish, fucking rubbish mate, the equipment mean bollocks, Canon EOS 1D, Leica M8, it's doesn't matter, a professional/self taught photographer know that to take a great shot, you have to figure out the natural light position and brightness, waiting for the perfect light to shine on a subject, choosing the right frame, the right colour etc. to make a great shot. (and of course, being a naturally good photographer, by simply pointing and shooting randomly, but that's can be a gamble).

Giant Monsters On Tube!

2007-02-18T17:06:00.001Z

Giant Monsters On Tube!
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I was a little miserable for the past few day, so when picking up my usual free London newspaper on the tube today, this just made my day.

Confusion

2007-02-08T23:36:00.001Z

Going Home
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Weird days, sometime it's just so easy to drop everything and just simply live.

Untitled.

2007-02-06T23:26:00.001Z

Suicide Pits
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Trying to wash clothes, change tyres on bike, cleaning bathroom, worried about own life, going down the drain, dropping out of university, lack of friends, no perceiving, wrecked self-confident, no motivation, fuck fate, mobile ringing non-stop, sleep deprived, failing everything, no self-esteem, hiding in cowardice, timid and nervousness, toward anyone, rake and roustabout, no attitude, splinters in the head, unclear conscience.

New Camera

2007-01-30T17:06:00.001Z

New Camera
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

That's right, a proper new camera, not the digital one which would've cost me over four bloody grand but a film one as they're quite underrated hidden neatly away in the digital crazed world, A 50mm lens was donated to me, but I'm still looking for a 35mm lens so I can get the best of all world.

I probably will used it on some photo shoot with my mate, Aysin soon.

Thought it won't stop me using my Lomo LC-A, it's still my favourite and most-used camera in the world.

Portrait

2007-01-21T18:04:00.001Z

Hippy
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I was walking about in Notting Hill snapping away with my LC-A, I managed to take a shot of a bloke with a Karma Kabs after talking to him, which turn out looking great, I rarely do portrait which was a shame, mostly because since I'm profoundly deaf, communication's a bit limited to me, I should try and set off somewhere and take more portrait shot next time.

Where I Want To Live

2007-01-20T13:28:00.000Z

Flat
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Some people may have notice that I have a very low aim in life, I never wanted a fit sexy bird, a £150,000 cars, a big fuck-off studio apartment in New York, or even a job that pay six figures a years. All i simply want in life is simply a nice bird, a nostalgic car (The Mini come to mind, the original I mean), a job that just pay enough to live comfortably without getting in some financial trouble, and basically a flat in Clapham Common, Clapham Common is probably best known as the poor man's Hampstead Heath.

Everyone want to be a millionaire, simply for one reason; to live comfortably without doing a day's work, however the thought of being a millionaire frightened me, the idea of not doing a day work, just sitting down watching the telly, going out on the bike etc. work give us more or less, a reason to live, to get motivation from (well, perhaps being a checkout boy in Tesco probably not as motivated), living comfortably is far more important and better than just being a millionaire.

Ugly Betty

2007-01-17T09:59:00.000Z

Ugly Betty
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Don't really see what's the fuss about really, I mean she's barely ugly at all if you removed her brace, glasses and change her fashion taste a tad, can't they just employ a proper ugly bird? A typical Hollywood fashion where everyone's not ugly.

Hot Fuzz

2007-01-17T09:54:00.000Z

Hot Fuzz
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Shaun of the Dead is pretty much one of my favourite movie of all, excellent combination of rom-zom-com (romantic, zombie and comedy) not to mention it's from the very same crewd who did the fantastic Spaced during the nineties. After the phenomenal success of SotD, they've already started on a new flick; Hot Fuzz. Basically, Hot Fuzz is pretty much a homage to all the great cop film, most especially from the 70's, the best part is that they should be hitting the cinema this February on the 16th.

Man, I can't wait to go to watch it.

Getting Mugged

2006-10-24T20:35:00.000Z

I have almost gotten mugged 3 times in my life so far, ‘almost’ as in the mugger failed to mug me successfully.

The first time I almost got mugged was outside Victoria station in Westminster at about 12 in the evening, this mugger pop out of nowhere and demand money (also says please, which is quite polite of him), at that point I burst out laughing really hard, why? Because the knife he’s using to mug me is in fact, a Swiss army pocketknife, probably a fake that he got for a tenner, I can’t stop laughing even thought when he could’ve knifed me, but he didn’t and buggered off.

So that’s one-nil to me.

The second time however was a bit more complicated, add to that I was in an area where mugger believe to be more frequency in Brixton, instead of a tiny knife, he got a big fuck-off Crocodile Dundee knife (he also says please while demanding my money which again is polite of him). Somehow I just panic and went full on arguing with him about how sloppy the process of mugging me is, I don’t remember much what I’ve says to him but this is how it go;

“Oh you’re going to mug me, like? See, the problem is you complete inept bugger, is that I can quite clearly see your face, figure out your height and what clothes you’re currently wearing, however if you did stab me and left me to dead, then you’d get caught anyway like the other muggers do, look around, this isn’t exactly a discreet location to mug someone, and you already left plenty of print!”

At that point he buggered off as well, two-nil to me.

The third time, I’m not so sure whether it was a successful mugging or not; On the way to the station, rushing as I was late for a date with someone, a mugger pop out of nowhere (again, says please while demanding my money), at that point I was properly annoyed that I got held up by a pesky mugger, I scramble into my pocket, pull out a tenner, toss it to him, told him to piss off back to Romford, and back rushing to the station to catch the train.

He probably did do a successful mugging, but someone pointed out to me that I merely donated him the money, so the score is still two-nil to me.

That’s pretty much my experience of ‘almost’ getting mugged, I did notice however, that the British muggers are somewhat more polite, when my mate who got mugged some years ago, the mugger gave him a pound twenty for the bus fare home, very nice of them, even thought they took all of his queens, I suppose some would says that you only need to says the right thing to prevent such thing, instead of getting a weapon to prevent these thing to happen like that 2nd Amendment rubbish in America.

Ta ra for now.

Suit Me, Another One!

2006-10-22T20:58:00.000Z

Inspired by Ricky's (otherwise known as Muddybanks) blog about suit, so this time, I'll talk about fashion in the general sense.

Of course I'm not exactly a fashionable bloke who tried to look like those Henri Lloyd advert you see in Wallpaper* (yes I read Wallpaper*) everyday, but worn them when I feel like it, for date, business, and par-tay.

The main problem with fashion, as always, is that they do tend to be expensive, I recently managed to spend my birthday money (while adding a few extra from my bank) on a £360 Hugo Boss jacket, of which I could've buy a couple Paul Smith shirt, a Diesel jean and a Henri Llyod's scarf, but the real secret is this - your exterior is more important than your interior.

Allowed me to explain, when i says exterior, I meant thing that people can see everyday, such as jacket, jean and shoe, and interior such as shirt, boxer short, sock, and sometime, jumper.

an example, is that I got a white smart looking shirt from Mark and Sparks (£20) with a V neck jumper from NEXT (£10 discount), which bring the final cost to £30, it doesn't look very inspiring and exciting on it's own, but when you worn these with the Hugo Boss jacket, it suddenly become appealing, white shirt with a black v-neck jumper on top along with a olive jacket is also a good colour combination which is important as well.

If you're not going out with a jacket, it's always best to get one or two top end shirt says, from Paul Smith, with a NEXT jumper can make a transformation, but for God's sake, do NOT choose a brand interior with a cheap exterior, one, you'd be wasting a bit of your money on shirt and top that people may not always see, and two, having a cheap jacket from Rivers Island is quite common and not very exciting, which made the shirt less exciting, regardless of whether it's a Dolce & Gabbana or a Paul Smith.

Right, now for shoe, which is a tricky subject to talk about (and not my most knowledgeable part of fashion admittedly), for suit and such, a decent black mark and spark leather shoe can look great and nearly always, you cannot be able to tell whether that shoe is a Ralph Lauren or a Clarks, but for casual, sometime getting a decent pair (especially one that look great) make a difference, Converse is usually a good choice for classic but you have to be careful of what to wear with it and/or what kind of Converse as they're almost very cliche nowadays, so instead of Converse, I went for a shoe that's older than Converse called PF-Flyers, while costing a little more than a Converse, I've chosen a light brown leather one as that colour can go with everything, also the fact it's a PF-Flyers, whose appearance are similar to Converse, it can spark up some conversation, "Is that a Converse? it look a bit different".

Last but not least is the small stuff that people do sweat over, such as glasses; choosing the right frame and colour is as important as choosing the right shoe to the ladies, if you're unsure of which glasses to get, it's always idea to get a thick black framed glasses as they always suit anyone's face (expect Kim Jong I suppose, he got an owl face that need an owl-sized glasses)

Anyway, ta ra for now!

Banksy Does Paris

2006-09-04T19:58:00.000Z

Topless
Originally uploaded by sharl.

Heh, that's quite literally made me scream with joy the moment I heard that Banksy managed to sabotage's Paris new album (since when that hussy sing?), a lots of us has quite a dislike toward her mainly because she have done nowt in her entire life.

Banksy has managed to brighten up her album cover and such by changing some of the image and adding some truth about her such as the song list - "Why Am I Famous?", "What Have I Done?" and "What Am I For?"

you can see more here -

she bloody well deserve it she does!

Robot With Realism

2006-08-30T20:51:00.000Z

I've just watched Beck - Hell Yes music video and was astounded by how human-like the robot dance, it crushed how we thought robot should act in the future, all jerkly and wonky like an '89 Citroen.

It's only 2006 and we already have robot that move effortlessly as if there's a human inside it.

Genius Bar

2006-08-29T18:27:00.000Z

Genius Bar
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

Took me computer to the Genius Bar as it won't accept my OS X install disc, no matter what, it has baffled the entire staff at the genius bar until a pikey went "hard drive probably snuffed it"

Right now they've take it in to figure out the problem, and replace the HD to see if it indeed, the HD fault.

Did a couple test with some of the MacBook, I like the MacBook, but it's quite heavy for it's size, the MacBook Pro are a fantastic machine if a bit expensive.

(photo taken with a Lomo LC-A)

New Bike

2006-07-30T18:39:00.000Z

Kona Smoke Rear
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I've just got me new bike and I'm lovin' it baby (mind the cliché McDonald pun there).

Techincally I was 'downgrading' my bike to a hybrid bike (a mixture of road/off road bike), as my old bike was properly kitted out, with decent suspension, gears, wheels, etc. but now I don't needed the whole performance and decided to get a hybrid bike just for riding about in the city.

Thought I love how thick the tyres is, almost like a motorbike tyres!

A Twist Of Blade

2006-07-22T00:04:00.000Z

A Twist Of Blade
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I have managed to aquired an 55-200mm Sigma lens, which is perfect for sport photography, but after experimenting with several shot, it does has some interesting perceptive given the focus rate in this image above.

Arse Getting Harder

2006-07-20T00:20:00.000Z

I must admitted, that the title somehow give off a pornographic vibe.

I used to ride my bike a lots, especially around the countryside 3 years ago at the same time I left the Mary Hare Grammar School for the Deaf (It's a boarding school) which is situated in the middle of the countryside. In a normal week, I'd do an average 10 miles just mucking about, and I I wanted to go for a proper ride, I'd average 25 miles.

Two weeks ago, I've decided to send my bike away for a service at my local bike shop called Evans Cycles as my bike now look worse for wear; brake cable are rusty, brake's worn out, saddle become hard as rock, rear cassette's slipping, rim's not straight, frame need some welding etc. After recieving my bike back (and a hefty £120 bill), saddle and semi-slick tyre has been added and now it ride smoothly and effortlessly.

Now here come the part I wasn't expecting, my bum started to get awfully sore after 10 minutes of riding and I thought it's to do with my new saddle, I was even playing around with the idea of taking the massive saddle from me mum's old bike just to be comfortable but decided that my dignity is not to be thrown around lighty, and decided to bear with the pain for a while.

after a weeks, riding become more and more comfortable, and more bearable too, and I've come to realise I no longer feel any pain or such.

I love feeling the small achievement of actually getting fitter in such a short space of time, nothing match the feeling of becoming better at a partiuclar sport in a short period of time.

Sure it's a bum, but it's a start.

Hmph.

2006-07-16T15:36:00.000Z

It's only 28°C yet I want to go into the car and turn on the a/c just to stay cool. Thought I did have a pleasantly enjoyable bike ride around town, I hasn't realise how relaxed and easy it is when I've replace my thick mountain tyres with some semi-slick road tyres, had a bit of a nightmare when I was on some gravel as it has less grip than a nun's arse.

ah well, Top Gear is on tonight, finally the World Cup finished, now Sunday is enjoyable once again!

toodle doo!

In Loving Memories of the Ravindran

2006-07-14T20:20:00.000Z

In Loving Memories of the Ravi
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I was a bit shocking to see my local newsagent went up in flame last week, at the hottest weeks in Wimbledon as it's something I don't usually see everydays, but I learnt later that the Ravindran's 2 years old daughter and her grandparents were trapped in the building.

The Firefighter from South West London has managed to take control of the fire and brought it down within an hour, the houses beside the damaged one were unaffected due to the design of the victorian building to prevent another incident of the Great Fire of London in 1666.

I was very saddened by the news as they were such nice people.

Nikolga D50

2006-07-14T20:05:00.000Z

Holga and Nikon
Originally uploaded by edscoble.

I've ordered a lens kit from Holgamods which's design to fit onto the F-mount of a Nikon camera. I love shooting in me Holga, however the downside of using a Holga is that it's not exactly an SLR camera as you can't look through the lens like in normal SLR camera (such as the Pentax K1000) which mean just about 5 out of 12 photo I took from the Holga turn out to be perfect, so I decided to order that lens kit for my Nikon D50 as a way to "test" the photo to see if it good enough to be taken with my Holga (while there's a few difference) also, I do have a habit of experimenting too.

Starting A Whole New Life

2006-07-14T02:35:00.000Z

I grew tired of my old blog, I grew tired of seeing how it evolved since I've started in 2004, I've grew tired of looking back and going "holy shit, my English is really is that bad" (okay, it's still nowhere near as good currently but it'll do since I don't have a speech therapist anymore after I left Mary Hare) also having a Blogger account seemed like a good reliable way of keeping in touch, and frankly nicer looking than the well known WordPress, that I have in Pixel Republic.

so yes, let start afresh here, like a birth, minus the blood, the pregnant lady, and the screaming.

Ho Hum

2005-11-02T18:38:00.000Z

Just posting to check it out, It's obviously easier to add entry than using my own blog I host at www.scobleism